How ancient is this Egyptian? 0

[Shirbini]

Hello. I need help identify what looks like an ancient Egyptian coin, maybe?... My father is a Numismatic since his childhood and had this coin with him in his coins collection for over than 50 years now. I was not successful identifying it using softwares or searching the web.

Thank you for help. Have a nice day

Edited August 21, 2020 by Shirbini

[Greenstang]

Welcome to the Forum.

It is not a coin. Probably a medallion that may have been used for a piece of jewellery. Hard to put a date on it unless someone has seen a similar piece.

[Shirbini]

Thank you Greenstang. Yes, I'm newbie. I hope someone could recognize it here

[Moxie15]

is it stone or metallic? To me it looks metallic and the patina almost looks, well, questionable. You may want to contact a museum or two to try to contact an Egyptian curator or expert. They may be able to identify it easily.

[RWB]

From the photo, it seems to be are least a week old - maybe more. My thought is that it is a piece of tourist fodder fed to  hungry gullibles.

[Shirbini]

7 hours ago, Moxie15 said:

is it stone or metallic? To me it looks metallic and the patina almost looks, well, questionable. You may want to contact a museum or two to try to contact an Egyptian curator or expert. They may be able to identify it easily.

It is metallic. I just contacted Egyptian curators and waiting to hear back. Much appreciated

[Shirbini]

7 hours ago, RWB said:

From the photo, it seems to be are least a week old - maybe more. My thought is that it is a piece of tourist fodder fed to  hungry gullibles.

It might be an old fodder piece as we have it for over 50 years now. Thank you 

[RWB]

"The first coins minted in Egypt are datable to the Late Dynastic Period, most likely produced to pay Greek soldiers serving the Egyptian king (Bolshakov 1992). There are also Persian coins were minted by the Persian king Artaxerxes III, most probably in Memphis. From the Ptolemaic Period on coins were minted regularly in Egypt. A first issue bears the name of Kleomenes of Naukratis, 330-323 BC, who governed Egypt for a period after the death of Alexander the Great. Coins then become part of the economy, and especially from the time of Ptolemy II on there is a rapid increase in circulation of coins. The coinage of Ptolemy I belongs to the earliest examples showing the head of a king, which later become very common (although already common under the Macedons)." [University College London]

All of these are conventional circular pieces.

[kbbpll]

It looks like iron, which in ancient Egypt was called "metal from heaven" because it was harvested from meteorites. I thought that was interesting. Some kind of amulet or scarab, but it also looks like something you might find in a souvenir shop.

[Shirbini]

19 hours ago, RWB said:

"The first coins minted in Egypt are datable to the Late Dynastic Period, most likely produced to pay Greek soldiers serving the Egyptian king (Bolshakov 1992). There are also Persian coins were minted by the Persian king Artaxerxes III, most probably in Memphis. From the Ptolemaic Period on coins were minted regularly in Egypt. A first issue bears the name of Kleomenes of Naukratis, 330-323 BC, who governed Egypt for a period after the death of Alexander the Great. Coins then become part of the economy, and especially from the time of Ptolemy II on there is a rapid increase in circulation of coins. The coinage of Ptolemy I belongs to the earliest examples showing the head of a king, which later become very common (although already common under the Macedons)." [University College London]

All of these are conventional circular pieces.

Hi RWB, excellent. Good information. Thank you 

[Shirbini]

18 hours ago, kbbpll said:

It looks like iron, which in ancient Egypt was called "metal from heaven" because it was harvested from meteorites. I thought that was interesting. Some kind of amulet or scarab, but it also looks like something you might find in a souvenir shop.

Hi Kbbpll, interesting. We tried magnet to find out if it's made of iron; we found that it's not. More likely a scarab. Amulets usually have a hole or a piece to hang on

Edited August 23, 2020 by Shirbini

[kbbpll]

5 hours ago, Shirbini said:

Hi Kbbpll, interesting. We tried magnet to find out if it's made of iron; we found that it's not. More likely a scarab. Amulets usually have a hole or a piece to hang on

I thought amulet because that blob on the reverse looked like maybe something was mounted there to hang it from, but of course it would have the wrong orientation.

[Shirbini]

7 hours ago, kbbpll said:

I thought amulet because that blob on the reverse looked like maybe something was mounted there to hang it from, but of course it would have the wrong orientation.

Yes, or maybe that blob is to hold it in place when attached to another piece. The ancient Egyptians had outstanding crafting skills. Good discussion, thank you

[physics-fan3.14]

 

On 8/23/2020 at 6:42 AM, Shirbini said:

Hi Kbbpll, interesting. We tried magnet to find out if it's made of iron; we found that it's not. More likely a scarab. Amulets usually have a hole or a piece to hang on

Scarabs are beetles... and that is not a beetle. 

[Shirbini]

49 minutes ago, physics-fan3.14 said:

 

Scarabs are beetles... and that is not a beetle. 

Hi, Just learned that. Thank you